Travel Insurance - What a palaver!

[IanMK]

In late 2016 I was diagnosed with slightly elevated blood pressure during a routine health check. In summer 2017 I went to my GP after realising that I was becoming breathless with mild exertion and, to cut a long story short, I was diagnosed with heart failure and started on a range of medications ‘to protect my heart’. Various tests were performed over the following months and eventually it was determined that my heart failure was attributable to a high ectopic burden. A cardiac ablation was performed but it was discovered that a significant source of my arrhythmia was close to my AV node and I had a pace and ablate 2 months ago.

Now feeling ‘repaired’, and no longer under investigation or awaiting treatment, I felt that I could consider a foreign holiday (and appropriate travel insurance) again after having felt unable to consider this for several years (mainly due to presumed insurance difficulties). I phoned several of the specialist medical travel insurance companies mentioned elsewhere on this site and – to ensure full disclosure – mentioned my history of high blood pressure, heart failure, arrhythmia and pacemaker (in retrospect, should I have mentioned dilated cardiomyopathy and left ventricular systolic dysfunction, too?). These seem to be treated as different conditions rather than being symptoms of the same condition and increase the price, no doubt. Although I have now completed my treatment, I remain on the medications that I have been on for over 18 months for the time being. More scrutiny was given to these medications than the pacemaker I now have. I was asked which of my medications were to treat high blood pressure and which medications were to treat arrhythmia, etc. I am not medically trained, but I have learned enough in the last couple of years to know that many of the drugs we are prescribed for heart conditions are not so tightly specific to one parameter but are multipurpose. I’m hoping that a lot of my recent medical history will ‘time-out’ in the next couple of years and will not need to be declared, so allow this quotation process to be simplified.

[Lezzers]

Travel insurance is a minefield. Kevin had a non heart rates operation almost a year before our trip. Unfortunately, the hospital gave him to much tramadol & he passed out a couple of times whilst still in the hospital. Didn't initially mention it to insurers as didn't feel it was relevant. Thought bout it & phoned insurers back & they charged another £2.50. Had he not phoned them back would they have refused any claims!!

[IanMK in reply to Lezzers]

The companies are very careful to make clear that they are not offering advice and they expect us to be experts regarding our condition and treatment. The call centre staff certainly are not medically trained and insurance quotations are prepared through a simple box-ticking exercise. One company asked if I was on blood thinners and I’m sure another asked me if I was on blood clotting medication! I have been prescribed an anticoagulant so I was confused how to reply.

[Lezzers in reply to IanMK]

Understand your confusion. One company asked Kevin if he suffers from high or low blood pressure. We asked his nurse & she said "you don't have either, all the medication you take is for your heart" but the medication he's on has at times reduced his blood pressure to low 80's over low 50's & both GP & cardiologist has been concerned about it!! You're right call centres do a tick box exercise. Last year the BHF were looking into doing their own travel insurance via one of the larger insurers. One if the things I suggested was that all medical info that's been given to be be kept on file so that you don't have to repeat the info everytime you call, just need to update it. This would help eliminate the possibility of forgetting to mention something. I also suggested that medically trained staff should be taking the calls. A lot of people have quite complex conditions that don't necessarily fit under one "umbrella & most likely have more than one condition! We've stopped going abroad now, husband has a habit of passing out on planes, I'm terrified that one day they'll divert the plane, charge us for the diversion & the insurers won't pay!!

[jimmyq]

I am on Clopidogrel "just in case". I had to go and ask my doctor for a specific reason.